Heat in California, August 14 to 16, 2019

Name: Heat in California, August 14 to 16, 2019
Start: 2019-08-14T10:00
End: 2019-08-16T20:00
Location: California

August 14 to 16, 2019 · NWS HNX · 13 events in 13 counties and zones

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 13

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS HNX wrote it up.

A large upper high pressure area that was centered over the four corners region built westward into central California between August 14 and 16. This resulted in widespread triple digit heat across the San Joaquin Valley, southern Sierra foothills and Kern County Deserts during this time frame. Excessive heat highlights were issued for the San Joaquin Valley and southern Sierra foothills as a result. A cooling trend then took place on August 16 and 17 as an upper trough pushes into the Pacific Northwest and broke down the large area of high pressure.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Hanford, CA wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Aug 14, 1:16 AM PST, 8 hours 44 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Aug 14, 1:16 AM PST, 8 hours 44 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Hanford CA
216 AM PDT Wed Aug 14 2019

.SYNOPSIS...
Widespread triple digit heat will continue in the San Joaquin
Valley through Friday with the hottest day being Thursday.
Temperatures will drop to near normal this weekend before
trending back upward early next week. Dry weather will persist
across Central California through at least the next seven days.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
A ridge of high pressure will continue to strengthen over the
region today and Thursday bringing clear skies and warming
temperatures. Temperatures rose into the triple digits many areas
of the San Joaquin Valley Tuesday, and expect all areas of the
Valley to be in the triple digits today. As the ridge continues to
strengthen, temperatures will warm even a few more degrees
Thursday, which is expected to be the hottest day of the week.
Temperatures will be 5-10 degrees above normal across the entire
central California interior on Thursday. The excessive heat
warning remains in effect for the San Joaquin Valley and Westside
Hills Thursday with a heat advisory for the Sierra Foothills. With
Wednesday and Friday being almost as warm, will continue with the
heat advisories for the San Joaquin Valley and Westside Hills for
those days.

Friday night and Saturday, a trough of low pressure deepening
along the west coast will weaken the ridge slightly and allow some
marine cooled air to spill into the San Joaquin Valley. Thus,
temperatures will cool back to normal for Saturday and cool a few
more degrees Sunday.

The cooler temperatures will not last long as the ridge of high
pressure begins to build right back into California early next
week, warming temperatures back toward 100 by next Wednesday.
With no influx of moisture into the region, the forecast remains
free of precipitation for at least the next seven days.

&&

.AVIATION...
VFR conditions will prevail across the Central California Interior
through at least the next 24 hours.

&&

.AIR QUALITY ISSUES...
On Wednesday August 14 2019... Unhealthy for sensitive groups in
Fresno and Kern Counties and Sequoia National Park and Forest.
Further information is available at Valleyair.org

&&

.CERTAINTY...

The level of certainty for days 1 and 2 is high.
The level of certainty for days 3 through 7 is high.

Certainty levels include low...medium...and high. Please visit
www.weather.gov/hnx/certainty.html for additional information
an/or to provide feedback.

&&

.HNX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
Excessive Heat Warning from 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Thursday for
CAZ179>189.

Heat Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 8 PM PDT this evening
for CAZ179>189.

Heat Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Friday for CAZ179>189.

Heat Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM PDT Thursday for CAZ190-191.

&&

public...Bean
aviation....Bean

weather.gov/hanford